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Eagle advocacy group says pair of bald eagles has left area near construction project

By John Bear

Staff Writer

Posted:
07/20/2018 09:03:42 PM MDT

Updated:
07/20/2018 09:05:06 PM MDT

Construction on the Caliber at Flatirons development as seen from Northwest Parkway and Via Varra in Broomfield on Friday. The tree in the foreground at left was one that was used as a resting and perching place by nearby nesting eagles until the start of construction adjacent to it. (Paul Aiken / Staff Photographer)

Advocates allege this pair of bald eagles have abandoned this tree in the wake of recent construction on the Caliber at Flatirons apartment complex in Broomfield. (Glenn Cushman / Daily Camera)

A group advocating for a pair of nesting bald eagles that live near a Broomfield apartment complex currently under construction allege that the birds have fled the area and only come back to feed a fledgling that is not old enough to live on its own.

The group, Front Range Nesting Bald Eagle Studies, has an ongoing federal lawsuit with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service that alleges the agency has not properly issued permits to a construction company. Those permits shield the company from liability should it inadvertently disturb or kill the eagles.

"These two adults we know very well," he said. "We've documented them very well over the past three seasons. They have the most fidelity to their near nest area than any of the other eagles in the study."

Bove said the birds have been largely absent from what is called the Stearns Nest since July 14, when construction ramped up at the Caliber at Flatirons apartment complex being built near Via Varra and Northwest Parkway.

"Both the adults have essentially disappeared from the area," he said. "They have a fledgling eagle that they produced this season ... This particular young eagle was the only one of three that survived the big wind storm in mid April."

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Bove's group filed a federal lawsuit in February after the fish and wildlife service granted the contractor — The Garret Companies of Indiana — a take permit that would shield the company from liability if it inadvertently disturbs the birds (which can include killing them). The suit alleges that construction at another complex during the 2013-14 nesting season disturbed the birds to the point that they didn't produce any offspring that year.

The Garrett Companies has not returned phone calls seeking comment.

The suit contends that the fish and wildlife service improperly issued the permit and didn't allow for adequate public input beforehand. The service later pulled the permit and issued a new one in May that the plaintiffs say is identical to the first permit.

Plaintiff's attorneys argued in a June brief that the latest environmental assessment and public comment period were again inadequate and effectively lip service because the fish and wildlife service already planned to issue the second, identical permit, according to court records.

The plaintiffs are asking a federal judge to set aside the most recent permit and require the fish and wildlife service to fix the "fatal flaws" in the permit and conduct a "more robust public involvement," court records show.

However, the fish and wildlife service has countered that the plaintiffs' requests, should they be granted, will make obtaining a permit "much more onerous and time-consuming, and likely result in fewer people bothering to apply for a permit," according to a response brief filed Tuesday.

Attorneys for the fish and wildlife service — who declined to comment for this story — argue that the dearth of people applying for a permit will negatively impact the bald eagle population in the long run, court records show.

The first bald eagles were noticed in Colorado in the mid-1970s and populations have increased since then. The bird was removed from the Colorado list of threatened and endangered species in 2009, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Bove said eagles are threatened because of the high amount of development happening in Colorado, and although the birds can adapt over time, they are sensitive to anything "new," like a construction project.

He added that CPW has recommended that activities like construction be set back from eagle nests a half mile for about 10 months of the year. A brief period in late summer and early fall exists, he said, that allows for a quarter mile set back.

The construction company is required to build a hay bale barrier to protect the nest — such a structure has been in place for a while — but Bove said work is happening much too close. He added that volunteers are noticing graders and backhoes that are generating a lot of noise and operating much closer than CPW setback recommendations.

"(The fish and wildlife service) is basically giving the construction company a 'get out of jail free card,'" he said.

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